Justin Rose tees off on the difficult 18th hole in last season's final round at TPC Blue Monster at Trump Doral.
(Cannon/Getty Images)

By Bill Cooney, PGATOUR.COM

First-time PGA TOUR winner Michael Thompson could be considered a surprise champion at The Honda Classic. But his statistics -- mainly the improvement he made at PGA National compared to 2012 -- are even more shocking.

Thompson improved in ranking more than 100 spots in two critical statistics when comparing 2012 to The Honda Classic. We'll take a look at that and dive into the teeth of TPC Blue Monster at Trump Doral -- site of this week's World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship -- by going inside the numbers. 

No. 10  The 508-yard 10th hole at PGA National played as the most difficult of the week at The Honda Classic. The average score on the 10th was 4.403, which is the most difficult hole on the PGA TOUR thus far in 2013. … An average of 4.403 would put the hole in the top 10 most-difficult on TOUR in most seasons. The 10th yielded just 15 birdies all week, three of which came on Sunday when it played the most difficult with a 4.680 average. Surprisingly, the highest single-round average came at the par-4 11th during Round 3 at 4.800.

12th  The secret to success for Justin Rose in winning last year’s WGC-Cadillac Championship? Do everything well. Rose ranked 12th in all-around at the event. … Rose ranked in the top 30 in arguably the six most important statistics on TOUR at the Cadillac. He was 28th in driving distance, T18 in driving accuracy, T17 in greens in regulation, 6th in scrambling, 29th in strokes gained-putting and T5 in proximity to the hole. That’s pretty solid.

No. 18  The 467-yard par-4 hole at TPC Blue Monster ranked as the second-most difficult hole on the PGA TOUR last season at 4.539. Only No. 6 at The Olympic Club ranked tougher (4.544), which was during the U.S. Open. … The 18th ranked 33rd in 2011 and 101st in 2010. The signature hole at Trump Doral features a large water hazard down the left-hand side and plenty of tree trouble and bunkers on the right. The wind plays a huge factor as well – par feels a lot like birdie against the wind.

48 of 72  Michael Thompson hit 48 of 72 greens in regulation in winning The Honda Classic, ranking T5 in the category on the week. … That doesn’t even sound very impressive. But consider GIR leader Peter Hanson hit 51 greens at difficult PGA National. Also consider how much of an improvement compared to the field it was for Thompson. For the 2012 season, he ranked 144th in GIR. He was also spot-on with this driving accuracy, ranking T9 at PGA National at 71.43 percent compared to 126th (59.43 percent) at year-end of 2012.

66.22 percent  Scrambling rate through four events for Lee Westwood. That ranks 21st on TOUR. … Why is this important? Well, consider Westwood finished 2012 ranked 191st (48.3 percent) in scrambling – one of the weaker aspects of his golf game. One of the reasons Westwood moved his family from England to South Florida in the offseason was to get his short game in better shape. So far, it appears to have helped.

68th  Tiger Woods’ all-around rank at The Honda Classic, where he finished T37. … There are plenty of positives when breaking down Woods’ stats from PGA National. He was T11 in greens in regulation, T3 in eagles per hole, T10 in driving distance and T3 in proximity to the hole. But Woods ranked T46 in birdie average – which is likely a result of his strokes gained-putting rank of 38th at .270, meaning he picked up only about one shot on the field average for the week via putting. Woods was also T47 in scrambling, making par or better from off the green only 13 of 25 times.

309.6  Driving distance for PGA TOUR leader Nicolas Colsaerts. … The Belgian bomber is certainly living up to his namesake. It will be interesting to see if Colsaerts can stay on top throughout the season. He had an average of 315.2 in a limited schedule in 2012. Furthermore, it will be equally as interesting to see where he ends up. It's doubtful he will challenge Hank Kuehne's all-time high average of 321.4 set in 2003. But considering the uneven weather so far on TOUR, there’s no telling what Colsaerts can do in the summer heat.

1,282  FedExCup points for leader Brandt Snedeker. … Snedeker, who is sitting out Cadillac due to a rib injury, is way ahead of the 2012 pace through this point. Last season, Kyle Stanley led the TOUR with 935 points.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS ARCHIVE

Week 2: Sony Open/Humana Challenge

Week 3: Humana Challenge/Farmers Insurance Open

Week 4: Farmers Insurance Open/WM Phoenix Open

Week 5: WM Phoenix Open/AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am

Week 6: AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am/Northern Trust Open

Week 7: Northern Trust Open/WGC-Accenture Match Play

Week 8: WGC-Accenture Match Play/The Honda Classic

MARANA, Ariz. -- There were a lot of red numbers posted in this match as Colsaets took down his Ryder Cup teammate. Interestingly, though, the only eagle was made by Rose, who gives up about 17 yards off the tee to Colsaerts, the No. 2-ranked player in driving distance on TOUR this year at 307 yards.

Rose drew first blood when Colsaets made his only bogey of the day at the first hole. But the Belgian evened the match with a 6-foot birdie putt on the second hole and never trailed again.

Colsaerts won three straight holes starting at No. 5 with two pars and his second birdie to take a comfortable 3-up lead. Rose then made a 14-footer for birdie at No. 9 and the 12-footer for eagle at No. 11 to get back to 1 down.

Rose made his fourth bogey of the day at No. 12, though, and Colsaerts' lead grew. He put his approach at No. 14 to 28 inches for the 3-up advantage and won the 16th with a par to end the match.

Colsaerts, who also beat Rose last year in the Volvo World Matchplay, feels his length will be an advantage this week.

"There's a couple of corners, a couple of carries I can take on, and if it works out, I have much shorter irons into greens than some of the other guys," he said. "So if I'm on, I'm going to give myself a lot of birdie tries.  Obviously match play you want to hole a few. And if that happens, you're probably going to come out on top."

SCORECARD STATS: Colsaerts made six birdies and one bogey.  Rose made four birdies, an eagle and five bogeys.

HOLES WON: Colsaerts won seven holes. Rose won three holes.
 
QUICK RECAP: There were a lot of red numbers posted in this match as Colsaets took down his Ryder Cup teammate. Interestingly, though, the only eagle was made by Rose, who gives up about 17 yards off the tee to Colsaerts, the No. 2-ranked player in driving distance on TOUR this year at 307 yards.

Rose drew first blood when Colsaets made his only bogey of the day at the first hole. But the Belgian evened the match with a 6-foot birdie putt on the second hole and never trailed again.

Colsaerts won three straight holes starting at No. 5 with two pars and his second birdie to take a comfortable 3-up lead. Rose then made a 14-footer for birdie at No. 9 and the 12-footer for eagle at No. 11 to get back to 1 down.

Rose made his fourth bogey of the day at No. 12, though, and Colsaerts' lead grew. He put his approach at No. 14 to 28 inches for the 3-up advantage and won the 16th with a par to end the match.

NEXT OPPONENT: Matt Kuchar, who beat Sergio Garcia 2 up in the second round.

MARANA, Ariz. -- England's Justin Rose, a No. 2 seed, won a tight match against 15th-seeded K.J. Choi of Korea, 2 and 1, in the first round.

Rose now advances to play Belgium Nicolas Colsaerts in the second round.

Rose entered the day 2 up through nine holes but saw his lead quickly evaporate with bogeys at the 10th and 12th holes.

With the match all squared, both players birdied the par-5 13th and parred the par-4 14th. But Rose regained the advantage by converting a 23-foot birdie putt at the par-4 15th while Choi failed to roll in his 11-footer for birdie.

"I said at the beginning of the week, it comes down to that one moment in the round where you need to make something happen, and that moment for me was on 15," Rose said. "... I was looking like I was going 1 down.

"... To make a putt when I really needed it feels good, and I felt like that's what I've begun to do a lot recently."

Rose then put the match away by winning the 17th hole after Choi had trouble off the tee. He now has a chance to advance past the second round for just the second time in his eight appearances here.

"It'll be a tough game," Rose said of his match against Colsaerts, 'but obviously one that I'm looking forward to, and I'll have to make some birdies."

To preview the 2013 PGA TOUR season, PGATOUR.COM is counting down the Top 100 Players to Watch in 2013. For an archive page with the top 100 players and for an explanation on how the list was compiled, click here.

MORE TOP 100: Back to No. 6 | Forward to No. 4 | Top 100 Archive

2013 PREVIEW: Justin Rose picked up his fourth PGA TOUR victory when he won for the third straight season. He also posted career-highs in top-10 finishes and earnings. The Englishman ranked first on TOUR in greens in regulation but dropped from 96th to 129th in strokes gained-putting. Imagine the possibilities in 2013 if his flat stick becomes more cooperative.

2012 DEFINING MOMENT: Rose has shown a penchant for coming up big in the big events and the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship, where the softspoken Brit rallied from three strokes back with a final-round 70. He nearly won a second time at the all-important TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola where he took a share of the lead into the final round but was relegated to second by Brandt Snedeker's 68. –- Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM

ALBERS’ QUICK TAKE: I remember leaving Florida in March thinking Justin was the best player on TOUR. Easily has the game to win a major championship, as he is very tough mentally. Rose is a better putter than his 129th ranking in strokes gained-putting would indicate. -- Fred Albers, SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio

BOLTON’S FANTASY OUTLOOK: Suffice it to say, he's on the long list of best never to have won a major, but his arrow is still tilted upward. Coming off his most efficient season to date -- $4.29 million in just 19 starts. Won't turn 33 until after the British Open, so his prime is now. Hop aboard. -- Rob Bolton, PGATOUR.COM Fantasy expert

SOCIAL MEDIA: Find him on Twitter

2012 QUICK REVIEW

Regular Season ranking 12th

Final Playoffs ranking 6th

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN

What is your prediction for Justin Rose in 2013? Fill out the form below and let us know

Lyons/Getty Images

Englishmen Ian Poulter and Justin Rose provided the Europeans with a 2 and 1 win.

By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM

MEDINAH, Ill. – The European Team of Ian Poulter and Justin Rose defeated America’s Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker in Friday morning’s foursomes match in the Ryder Cup.

MATCH FLOW: This was a much closer match than might have been expected given the way the Americans had to scramble. Tiger Woods had a dismal day off the tee and even flubbed a chip shot. The Europeans, meanwhile, hung tough all day as Ian Poulter got his first win against the former world No. 1 in three attempts.  Europe took control early with a win at the second hole after Steve Stricker found the water. The Americans squared the match with a par at the third but Justin Rose answered with a 40-footer for birdie at the next and Europe never trailed again. A U.S. bogey at No. 6 gave Europe a 2-up edge but Stricker made a 3-footer for birdie at the next and the match remained 1 up until No. 11 when Poulter holed a bunker shot for birdie. A par at No. 12 then put Europe 3 up. The Americans get one back at the 13th with a par but Poulter made birdie on No. 15 to return to 3 up. The Americans won the 15th with a birdie but halved the next two with pars. The morning session ended in a 2-2 tie for the first time since 1997.

BY THE NUMBERS: The Americans won four holes and shot 3 over as a team. The Europeans won six holes and shot 1 under.

TIPPING POINT: The bunker shot the emotional Poulter holes at the 11th hole fuels the fire for the Europeans.

NOTES & QUOTES: “This for me was a tough game; it was  tough go for both of us. Tiger has had two of my three defeats and I never wanted to have another one. So it was going to be a tough day. But as Justin said, I've got his back and he's got mine. He asks me to hole a putt, I'm going to go and deliver.” -- Ian Poulter …

When paired together, Poulter and Rose are now 3-1-0 overall and 2-1-0 in Foursomes. Poulter is now 3-1-0 lifetime in Foursomes play. …

Stricker/Woods are now 1-2-0 in Foursomes.

Greenwood/Getty Images

Justin Rose finished sixth in the FedExCup on Sunday in Atlanta.

MEDINAH, Ill. -- Justin Rose fell short on Sunday in his quest to win for the second time this season on the PGA TOUR. But he took a ton of confidence from the 14-footer he holed for par on the 18th hole at East Lake.

When the ball found the bottom of the cup, Rose was able to hold onto sole possession of second at the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola. The successful stroke under such pressure also validated the work he's been doing on his putting with David Orr.

And that’s good news heading into an event like the Ryder Cup that places such a premium holing putts.

"I was beaten by the better guy on the day in Brandt Snedeker," Rose said. "He played very, very well on Sunday; he made putts and he chipped and he did everything he had to do. I felt like I played well, as well. To slip into a tie for second would have been a bit of a stinger.

“I felt like I took a lot of positives out of the day because of that putt on the 18th green."

Rose, who leads the PGA TOUR in greens in regulation, has struggled once he got there this year. In fact, he ranks 130th in strokes-gained putting, which measures a player's performance against the field each week.

So he sought the help of Orr, who was recommended by Rose's swing coach, Sean Foley. The two found that Rose has been experimenting in the heat of battle when he needed to go back to basics, correct his flaws and trust his stroke.

"There's absolutely nothing ground‑breaking, just trying to work my way back towards what would be a neutral stroke, technically correct," Rose said. "I was having a hard time on left‑to‑right putts, I kept missing them to the right, so there was clearly something awry, and that's it, really.

"Putting is an interesting part of the game because you can have a perfect stroke and not make putts. It's not about having a perfect stroke, and that's the balance that I need to find. You know, the stroke side of it is improving, but the artistry of putting is a whole different thing. ...

“I know that I can putt well no matter what the stroke, is what I'm saying, when you get into the right mindset."

Chris Condon/PGA TOUR

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ATLANTA – Brandt Snedeker and Justin Rose have just hit their opening tee shots in the final round of the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola.

Both drives bounced down the right side of the fairway with Snedeker finding the first cut and Rose’s ball settling 13 yards closer to the green. But even with the FedExCup looming large, it should be a comfortable pairing for the two.

Rose calls Snedeker, who came into the week ranked fifth in the FedExCup, a “great competitor.” The two friends played a practice round together earlier this week.

“He thinks very smartly about his game,” Rose said. “He understands how to harness his putter. He understands how to use the rest of his game to give himself the best chance on the greens. His caddie and my caddie are best friends pretty much out here on tour. They room together a lot.

“So from that perspective, it's going to be a comfortable pairing and that could help both of us in some sense. … He's tough, there is no doubt. That is the thing when you play someone like Brandt, if he's 15 feet for par, he's not out of the hole, and that's what makes him tough to play against.